Chapter 503 Where Is Agnes?
Lyric was totally caught off guard. She was always the one sucking up to the big shots and picking on the little guys. The Hernandez family had spread the words about making things difficult for Harper, and she was more than happy to oblige. Plus, she got a kick out of messing with people.
Lyric sneered, "You really think you can come between me and Audrey with a few cheap words?"
Harper shot back, "Ms. Brin, your friend Audrey's been MIA for over two days. Doesn't that make you curious?"
Lyric was a bit thrown. Yeah, it had been Audrey's assistant hitting her up lately, and she couldn't get a hold of Audrey herself.
Lyric snapped, "And what’s that got to do with you?"
Harper stayed cool, "Ms. Brin, you might wanna check where your pal is right now. I'll give you five more minutes to decide. If you still think I'm full of it, then I'm out."
The Hernandez family had kept Audrey's detention on the down-low, but anyone who really wanted to know could find out.
Lyric thought Harper was just blowing smoke. In her mind, Audrey was Francis's fiancée, the Hernandez family princess. Backing her was a no-brainer.
But Harper's confident look made Lyric uneasy. She quickly called Audrey, but it was still the assistant who picked up.
Lyric asked, "Hey, where's Audrey?"
The assistant smoothly replied, "Hello, Ms. Brin. Ms. Hernandez is at an international conference and can't take your call right now."
After hanging up, Lyric called a buddy in the biz to dig into Audrey's situation. He said he'd check and get back to her. While waiting, Lyric puffed up and said arrogantly, "You're wrong. Audrey's out of the country!"
Harper checked her watch; time was up. She turned and walked away, stone-faced.
Seeing Harper strut off, Lyric yelled, "If you walk away now, don't think you'll have it easy!"
But Harper kept on walking.
Lyric stomped her foot hard. Whatever, her goal was to make Harper's life hell anyway, and now she had the perfect chance.
Just then, her phone rang. Lyric answered, and after a few words, her face went pale.
After hanging up, she shouted, "Hey. Wait!"
Harper acted like she didn't hear and kept walking, but Lyric chased after her.
Lyric shouted, "Hey, didn't you hear me calling you?"
Harper stopped and glanced back at her. Lyric's cocky attitude had deflated as she muttered, "I'll sign the agreement."
Harper stayed silent the whole time. Lyric was a bit nervous and asked, "You're not gonna stiff me on my compensation, right?"
That was a big chunk of money, more than what the company's artists made.
Harper tucked away the contract and said, "I won't. Just make sure you pick the right side next time."
Lyric felt pissed. Who was Harper to lecture her?
"What the..." Before she could finish, she saw a cold glint in Harper's eyes and swallowed her words.
She realized Harper had flipped the script. This was all Audrey's fault. Lyric had thought she was a good friend, but she ended up in jail without a word. Even had her assistant lie to her. And it almost made her lose a fortune.
Outside the company, Harper saw Ryan waiting in the car. Seeing Harper looking all frazzled, Ryan flashed a warm smile and said, "Harper, don't burn yourself out."
Harper stayed silent. Ryan didn't miss a beat and added, "With that big payout, you'll probably need to dip into the Murphy family's funds, right? Let's hope nothing goes wrong there."
Total threat. He wasn't just gunning for her company; he wanted to mess with the Murphy family's business too.
Harper replied coolly, "Thanks for the concern. Our cash flow's solid."
Ryan thought she was just being stubborn. He put on a fake concerned face and said, "Harper, let me give you a suggestion. Why don't you just admit Francis is dead and drop the case? I'll buy out his shares for you."
Of course, once the case was dropped, he could tank the Getty Group's stock and give her peanuts.
Harper knew Ryan's endgame was to get her to admit Francis was dead so he could move forward with his big plans.
"Ryan, Francis isn't dead." Harper's voice was ice-cold. "I don't like hearing that."
Ryan was fuming. Harper wouldn't budge, making her a tough nut to crack.
Ryan spat out, "Let's just see what happens."
As expected, a few companies got tricky to deal with in the afternoon, probably because Ryan had them on a leash. As night fell, Harper dragged her worn-out self back to the studio. She'd been crashing and working there for two days straight, too swamped to go home. Luckily, Zoey was at home with bodyguards, so Harper could relax a bit.
For two days, Harper hadn't given up. Through sheer grit, she had almost covered the necessary compensations. Overall, the losses were way less than expected. The biggest break came from CelestialGlow Entertainment, which didn't ask for a dime in compensation. Instead, they found replacements and revamped the whole event.
Harper tried to transfer the compensation to Jeffrey, but he refused, citing his friendship with Francis. Jeffrey also said, "Francis is in such deep trouble; I just did what any friend would do."
Finally, Jeffrey added, "Everything'll be fine when Francis comes back."
Like Harper, he didn't believe Francis was gone. In Jeffrey's eyes, Francis was an unstoppable force. No way he'd just disappear.
Those words hit Harper hard, making her eyes sting with tears. She hadn't cried under all the pressure from those ruthless people, but now these words got her right in the feels. Though many thought she was delusional, she wasn't alone—someone believed in her.
But things took a turn.
On the third day at the studio, Harper got a frantic call from her driver, "Ms. Murphy, Zoey went to pick up Agnes after school, but I've been waiting for forty minutes, and they haven't come out. The teacher said Zoey already took Agnes."
Harper shot up from her chair, "Check the surveillance footage. I'm on my way."
After hanging up, Harper realized she was shaking too much to drive. She called for a driver, jumped in the car, and urged him to floor it.
Since Zoey and Agnes had vanished, Harper hit up Jessica, and they agreed to meet at the school gate. In the school's surveillance room, the driver had already combed through the footage three times. It only showed Zoey holding Agnes's hand as they left through the main gate, then poof, they disappeared around a corner.
With shaky hands, Harper called the cops. But the police wouldn't file a report because the footage didn't show any clear signs of abduction, and it hadn't been twenty-four hours yet.
Harper was losing it, her feet felt like ice, and her whole body was trembling. She clung to a chair and slowly sat down, forcing herself to stay calm while watching the surveillance footage over and over again.
Finally, she went to the corner where Zoey and Agnes had vanished. This wasn't a route Zoey usually took. In the footage, it was Agnes holding Zoey's hand, seemingly leading her that way.
Harper stood at the narrow alley entrance, eyeing the single surveillance camera. Below it was a huge blind spot. If Zoey and Agnes were snatched at this corner, the camera wouldn't have caught it.
Clearly, someone had scoped out the route beforehand! But why would Agnes lead Zoey down an unfamiliar path?
A flood of questions made Harper's head feel like it was about to explode. In a flash, a bunch of people popped into her mind.
Ryan, Keith, Audrey...
Harper despised these shady bastards with every fiber of her being. Who had taken Agnes and Zoey?
Harper bolted to the Getty Group's headquarters and stormed into Ryan's office. Ryan was lounging in a big chair, getting cozy with his female secretary.
The secretary, looking a mess, was perched on his lap, and he was holding her collagen-filled face, kissing her like a maniac and saying sleazily, "Baby, give it to me. Stop teasing me. Give it to me..."
The door flew open. Ryan was so startled he shoved the secretary away. She yelped and hit the floor.
Harper rushed over, slammed the table, and shouted, "Was it you? Spill it!"
Ryan, whose good time was ruined, snapped, "Are you nuts? What are you talking about?"
Harper locked eyes with Ryan. There was no dodging, no other details but annoyance. It didn't seem like he was faking it. But she still couldn't rule out Ryan as a suspect.
Harper, though pale and exhausted, said with fierce eyes, "Don't mess with my kid, or you'll regret it."
Ryan's heart skipped a beat, and he cursed himself for being so spineless as to be scared by Harper. He said coldly, "Threatening me won't work, Miss. If you drop Francis's case, none of this would happen."
Because of Harper's previous meddling, Ryan had been cautious and low-key recently. Even he wouldn't be dumb enough to kidnap her kid now.
Harper's voice was hoarse from agitation as she snarled, "In your dreams!"
With that, she stormed out of the office.
Ryan helped the woman up from the floor and went back to his fun.
After leaving the office, Harper felt dizzy and breathless, her heart gripped by anxiety. She had to lean against the wall to steady herself and let her heartbeat calm down.
A pair of black leather shoes slowly stopped in front of her. Harper didn't need to look up to know who it was. He was cold and devoid of any warmth.
Keith, hands in his pockets, said unhurriedly, "Harper, why do you make yourself so miserable?"
Harper spoke woodenly, "Keith, was it you? Did you take Agnes?"
Knowing Keith wouldn't tell the truth, she still hoped against hope that he was the answer.
Keith looked at her, smiled faintly, and said, "No."
Harper had no time to discern Keith's expression to see if he was lying. She was having a stress reaction—shortness of breath, chest tightness, and nausea.
"Harper..." Keith called out, his eyes showing a hint of pity. He reached out to smooth her hair and said softly, "Even after what you did to me, I can still forgive you."
Harper, though stiff, reflexively frowned and avoided his touch. Keith's hand hung in the air. The next second, he laughed lightly, "Harper, I've told you many times, going head-to-head will only bring you more pain."
Harper didn't want to deal with Keith; she needed to find Agnes. Keith, however, smiled coldly, "Instead of wasting your time, why not ask me for help?"
Harper paused, then turned sharply, and asked, "Do you know where Agnes and Zoey are?"
Keith said nonchalantly, "Nope. But it won't be hard for me to find out."
Harper knew Keith wanted to take advantage of her desperate situation. She was about to walk away when she heard Keith say, "Is there really a butterfly fairy?"
Instantly, Harper's vision went black. This was a story she had told Agnes. She had told Agnes once that if she got lost, she should stay where she was and wait for the butterfly fairy to pick her up.
Harper rushed over, grabbed Keith's collar, and shouted, "Where is Agnes?"
Her face was pale, her voice hoarse as she shouted, "It was you, right? You took Agnes. Give her back to me. Give her back!"
Keith, calm and composed, said, "Don't get so worked up. If you keep doing this, people will think you're harassing me, and the rumors from last time will be dispelled."
So, that was his plan. But it wasn't time to be concerned about that.
Her eyes were cold and full of hatred as she snarled hysterically, "You bastard. She's just a kid. A KID! Give me back my child, or I will kill you."
Harper's throat was raw, but she forced out each word, "I really will kill you."
Keith smiled faintly, "You're too emotional now. Let's talk when you calm down."
Harper couldn't let him go. Her eyes were bright with tears, glaring at him. "Keith, what do you want?"
Keith laughed coldly, "You know better than I do."
Of course she knew, and that was why she hated him so much. He shouldn't have touched her child.
Keith saw Harper's sorrowful expression and smiled lightly, "From the beginning, I said I want the Getty Group and..."
He leaned in slightly, his breath close, and said in a disgustingly sensual way, "You."
Harper was extremely uncomfortable with him so close, but she didn't move away. She knew Keith's intention.
It was mealtime, and Getty Group employees were passing by. Some even took pictures and shared them in the internal group chat.
"Didn't they say Mr. Getty was harassing Harper? This doesn't look like it at all."
"Yeah, they're so close, and it looks like they're quite into each other."
"Is this woman taking us for fools? She must get a fight with him and post a video to slander him and confuse us."
Each accusation felt like a slap to Harper's face. Harper's eyes were empty, and she said softly, "Are you satisfied? Now can you give me back Agnes?"
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